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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · 5h

Researchers and staff at European XFEL, are glad to hear that Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi have been awared the #NobelPrize in #Chemistry. Samples from Professor Omar M. #Yaghi's lab were examined at EuXFEL in 2022.

#research #congratulations

European XFEL congratulates Nobel Prize winners in chemistry 2025: (from left to right) Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi. Illustration: Niklas Elmehed. © Nobel Prize Outreach

The experiment station SPB/SFX is used to investigate crystalline and non-crystalline matter. A particular emphasis is placed on the determination of three-dimensional structures of biological objects. Examples are biological molecules including crystals of macromolecules and macromolecular complexes as well asviruses, organelles, and cells. Photo: European XFEL / Jan Hosan

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you @rothlabs.bsky.social for your efforts in building this important bridge between @tubaf.bsky.social and @europeanxfel.bsky.social 🙏

Friedrich Roth @rothlabs.bsky.social · 2d

🚀 Record set! For the 11th year running, 44 students from @tubaf.bsky.social joined the annual Materials research with X-ray free-electron lasers lecture series at @europeanxfel.bsky.social —the largest group yet! 🔬🎓
Lab visits & a growing pipeline of future scientists.
www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

XFEL: Freiberg Lectures: Eleventh year breaks records

www.xfel.eu

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · 2d

44 students of TU Bergakademie Freiberg visited European XFEL as a part of the annual lecture course.
For eleven years now, a unique cooperation has been giving students at TU Bergakademie Freiberg @tubaf.bsky.social #Freiberg an insight into the world of the X-ray free-electron laser (#XFEL).

The participants that attended the annual lecture course at European XFEL from 22 September to 26 September were the eleventh group of Freiberg students to take part in this course organized by the international research facility. In the beginning of the week, the students stayed in #Hamburg and visited European XFEL, which is one of the most modern and brightest #X-ray radiation sources in the world.
The lecture series ‚#Materials #research with X-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL)', that is dedicated to deepened students’ knowledge about the structure and applications of the X-ray lasers, is led by TU Freiberg Professor Serguei Molodtsov, who is also Scientific Director of European XFEL, and Dr Friedrich Roth from the Institute of Experimental Physics at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. ”This year, we are very happy to have reached a new record with 44 participants. This shows us that we are on the right track with this particularly intensive form of #cooperation,” says Roth.

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Reposted by European XFEL

Friedrich Roth @rothlabs.bsky.social · 13d

Last day of our lecture series “Materials Research at X-ray Free-Electron Lasers” @europeanxfel.bsky.social! After 13 sessions, our students are FEL-ready. Huge thanks to all lecturers—and best of luck with the exam! #TUBAF #EuXFEL

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · 17d

The European XFEL has a new electron source installed at the injector on the DESY campus. The new source, called GUN5, was developed and tested at DESY's Photo #Injector Test Facility in Zeuthen (PITZ) and will enable even shorter pulses at the world's largest X-ray laser. Find mor on www.xfel.eu

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · 22d

European XFEL and the University of Kosice, Slovakia, have signed a framework agreement for joint co-operation. The agreement gives research groups from the Slovakian university the opportunity to carry out cutting-edge #research at European XFEL.

Serguei Molodtsov, Scientific Director of European XFEL and Thomas Feurer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Management Board of European XFEL signed the agreement with the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University of Kosice, Slovakia. (photo: European XFEL)

The University of Kosice is now a member in the series of distinguished universities with which European XFEL co-operates. The framework agreement that has now been concluded gives research groups from the Slovakian university the opportunity to carry out cutting-edge research at European XFEL. Planned are joint scientific projects, the exchange of researchers and collaboration on dissertations.
“We are looking forward to intensive collaboration with our Slovakian colleagues,” says Thomas Feurer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Management Board of European XFEL. “We do have very good experiences with many young talents from Slovakia," adds Serguei Molodtsov, Scientific Director of European XFEL. He has given numerous summer schools on research on X-ray lasers and synchrotron radiation in Slovakia and has also been honoured with the gold medal from Pavol Jozef Šafárik University for that.
The agreement that has now been signed is the result of the activities of the Slovakian National Contact Point XFEL, which was established this year at the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Kosice. It provides space for the promotion and exchange of students, who can thus familiarise themselves with the research possibilities at European XFEL, the world's largest X-ray research laser.
Slovakia is one of the shareholders of European XFEL.

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · 24d

Congratulations! Prof. Dr. Beata Ziaja-Motyka, Group Leader at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science at DESY, Full Professor at the Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN), and close partner of European XFEL, has been awarded the Polish. Bronze Cross of Merit. xfel.eu

“We warmly congratulate Beata Ziaja-Motyka on this high honour. Her contributions have greatly promoted research at European XFEL and are very important for our successful collaboration with IFJ PAN, which we are very much looking forward to continue,” says Serguei Molodtsov, Scientific Director at European XFEL.

“Congratulations to Beata Ziaja-Motyka for this exceptional recognition,” says Britta Redlich, Director in charge of Photon Science at DESY. “The Bronze Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland is a fantastic recognition of her dedication and pioneering contributions to our field and an excellent example that cross-institutional collaboration is a real asset!”

The Bronze Cross of Merit is a state honour recognising outstanding public and scientific contributions in Poland. Ziaja-Motyka was nominated by the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences and decorated by Vice-President Natalia Sobczak, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Poland. The ceremony was attended by distinguished guests from the scientific community and leadership of Poland’s academic institutions.

As a leading researcher in the science of ultrafast processes, Ziaja-Motyka has been instrumental in developing and applying advanced theoretical modelling tools to study transitions in inorganic crystals and magnetic materials occurring within a few femtoseconds. Her work on the demagnetisation of materials using intense X-ray pulses, conducted in close cooperation between European XFEL and IFJ PAN, advances our fundamental understanding of how materials respond to extreme conditions and supports innovations in quantum imaging and next-generation material science.

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Sep 2

Ferroelectrics are promising candidates for the electronics of tomorrow. An experiment at the world’s largest X-ray laser – the European XFEL in Schenefeld near Hamburg – now shows that their properties can be controlled with high precision at ultrafast time scales –using light. Details: www.xfel.eu

Using the exceptionally bright and intense X-ray flashes of European XFEL, together with optical lasers, researchers at the SCS instrument tracked changes in barium titanate’s ferroelectric polarization, lattice structure and electronic state under the same experimental conditions – and with a temporal resolution of just 90 femtoseconds. Just 350 femtoseconds after excitation by the laser, the polarization had already changed significantly – without the crystal lattice having had time to vary notably. This decoupling opens up new possibilities for designing future electronic components. (illustration: Tobias Wüstefeld)

blue spheres: Ba atoms
green sphere: Ti atom
red spheres: O atoms
red beam: 800 nm optical laser
gray beam: XFEL beam
violet beam: 266 nm pump optical laser
blue beam: 400 nm optical laser (second harmonic generation)

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Aug 23

Follow us to the #tunnels.

For more than eight years, the #temperature inside the European XFEL #electron accelerator was minus 271 degrees Celsius. Now, for the first time, the #accelerator has been slowly warmed up to room temperature for mandatory #maintenance and extensive conversion work.

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Reposted by European XFEL

CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter @cui-unihh.bsky.social · Aug 11

An international, interdisciplinary team, succeeded in visualizing the collective trembling of an entire molecule 👉 Read more www.cui-advanced.uni-hamburg.de/cui-advanced... @europeanxfel.bsky.social #DESY @maxplanck.de

Photo: Rebecca Boll at the SQS (Small Quantum Systems) instrument. European XFEL

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Aug 11

An international team of researchers (e.g. slac_lab ) at European XFEL in Schenefeld near Hamburg, Germany has produced the first solid chemical compound of gold and hydrogen so-called gold hydride: This discovery contradicts the previous assumption that gold hardly reacts with hydrogen. xfel.eu

An international team of researchers has produced the first solid chemical compound of gold and hydrogen: Under extremely high pressure and temperatures, a so-called gold hydride was formed in experiments at European XFEL in Schenefeld near Hamburg, Germany. This discovery contradicts the previous assumption that gold hardly reacts with hydrogen and opens up new perspectives for chemistry under extreme conditions.

Gold is considered one of the most inert metals. But at pressures such as those found in the Earth's interior, the precious metal exhibits new qualities. Researchers at European XFEL's High-Energy Density (HED) Instrument compressed gold to over 40 gigapascals (GPa) using a diamond anvil cell and heated it to approximately 2,500 degrees Celsius using ultrashort flashes from the European XFEL X-ray laser.

"We were able to demonstrate that above 40 GPa, the lattice of gold atoms forms a hexagonal close-packed arrangement with disordered hydrogen atoms in the interstices," explains Mungo Frost of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Jul 29

Celebration of Pride Week 2025

At European XFEL, we are proud to be an international, science-driven community where individuality and #diversity are truly valued.
Several European #XFEL staff members have offered to share their stories about being LGBTQI+ in #STEM:
www.xfel.eu/news_and_eve...

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Jul 14

Attention #PHD-Students
@europeanxfel.bsky.social offers young researchers direct access to the international scientific community and unique opportunities to help shape cutting-edge research. Most recent proof:the annual "Students' and Science Days" - A three-day conference in the Lüneburg Plains.

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Jun 25

Minus 196 degrees Celsius- liquid #nitrogen is perfect for cooling down the ingredients for vegan ice cream in no time at all.
Experience this at the Open Day at European XFEL, the world's largest X-ray research laser, on Saturday, 28 June, 12 noon to 6 pm. Admission is free - programme on homepage!

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · May 30

Groundbreaking experiment at European XFEL: Research team of @University of Rostock and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf ( @www.helmholtz.de HZDR) measured structure of #liquidcarbon for the first time. Find more report in
@nature.com
(DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09035-6).

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · May 26

Impressive teamwork! Thanks @hzdr.bsky.social for your impact at this groundbreaking experiment.

HZDR @hzdr.bsky.social · May 22

Liquid carbon is proposed to exist in the interiors of planets and plays a key role in technologies such as nuclear fusion. A team from HZDR, @europeanxfel.bsky.social and University of Rostock has now succeeded for the first time in studying carbon in its liquid state.

www.hzdr.de/presse/liqui...

Researchers have been able to measure liquid carbon experimentally for the first time. They combined a high-power laser with the ultrashort X-ray laser flash of the European XFEL.

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · May 23

Groundbreaking experiment at European XFEL: Research team of University of Rostock and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) measured structure of liquid carbon for the first time (illustration: Martin Kuensting / HZDR). Find more report in @nature.com (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09035-6).

$Liquid carbon can be found, for example, in the interior of planets and plays an important role in future technologies like nuclear fusion. To date, however, only very little was known about carbon in its liquid form because in this state it was practically impossible to study in the lab: Under normal pressure carbon does not melt but immediately changes into a gaseous state. Only under extreme pressure and at temperatures of approximately 4,500 degrees Celsius – the highest melting point of any material – does carbon become liquid. No container would withstand that. Laser compression, on the other hand, can turn solid carbon into liquid for fractions of a second. And the challenge was to use these fractions of a second to take measurements. In a previously unimaginable way, this has now become reality at the European XFEL, the world’s largest X-ray laser with its ultrashort pulses, in Schenefeld, near Hamburg. The unique combination of the European XFEL with the high-performance laser DIPOLE100-X was crucial for the success of the experiment. It was developed by the British Science and Technology Facilities Council and made available to scientists from all over the world by the HIBEF User Consortium (Helmholtz International Beamline for Extreme Fields). A community of leading international research institutions at the HED-HIBEF (High Energy Density) experimental station at European XFEL has now combined powerful laser compression with ultrafast X-ray analysis and large-area X-ray detectors for the first time. In the experiment, the pulses of the DIPOLE100-X laser drive compression waves through a solid carbon sample and liquefy the material for nanoseconds, that is, for a billionth of a second. During this nanosecond, the sample is irradiated with the ultrashort X-ray laser flash of the European XFEL. Publication: D. Kraus, et al.: The structure of liquid carbon elucidated by in situ X-ray diffraction, in Nature, 2025. (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09035-6)$

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · May 12

europeanxfel

Embracing #diversity at all levels, DESY and the European XFEL jointly hosted a special #neurodiversity event under the motto "Every brain is unique". The event also highlighted the special #abilities of neurodivergent people like unique problem-solving skills
#science #research

In her welcome speech, Dr Nicole Elleuche, Managing Director of the European XFEL, emphasized the long-term goal of the panel: "We hope to create a diverse environment where all people - regardless of how they think or process information - can feel safe and thrive - to drive groundbreaking research and discoveries, which is at the heart of what both DESY and the European XFEL stand for!" In a joint video message, the members of the DESY Board of Directors, led by Prof. Dr. Beate Heinemann (Chairperson of the DESY Board of Directors), reminded the audience that it is precisely these extraordinary minds that have repeatedly given decisive impetus to science with their unique ideas and approaches.

After a general overview of the different facets of neurodiversity by the organizers, Dr. Daniel Schöttle (Chief Physician at the Asklepios Clinic Harburg, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics) focused in his keynote on ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in the work context. In addition to statistical prevalence, heritability, diagnostic mechanisms/age and medical treatment, he also addressed the gender difference: Women were usually diagnosed later, e.g. due to different perception or interpretation of symptoms related to their neurodivergent conditions and different social interaction in case of ADHD ("masking") and ASD ("internalized behaviour").

The lecture was followed by a dynamic panel discussion moderated by Kerstin Straub (DESY), in which the panelists shared their very personal experiences of working in a research environment with neurodivergent conditions.

After the panel discussion, Jan Kwietniewski from the “Beratungsstelle besondere Begabungen” (Counselling Centre for Highly Gifted Students) explained in his presentation that there is neither a "one-to-one" translation of ability into performance nor a "one-size-fits-all" solution.

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Apr 25

Researchers at the FXE instrument at @europeanxfel have now developed a new #spectrometer to obtain meaningful results even at energies well above 15 keV. It works in the so-called Laue geometry. The higher the X-ray energy, the more efficiently the Laue analyser works.

#pysics #xray

$A unique characteristic of European XFEL is the ability to provide X-ray light with very high energy. However, as the energy of the X-rays increases, the interaction with the crystals becomes smaller, making the measurements challenging. In this high photon energy regime, a large proportion of the X-ray light simply passes through the crystal unused, which is why the performance of X-ray spectrometers using these analysers, known as Johann or Von Hamos spectrometers, decreases rapidly with increasing X-ray energy. They usually only work well up to a photon energy of around 15 kiloelectronvolts (keV). Download [2.3 MB, 3648 x 1712] The new Laue spectrometer in position at the FXE instrument of European XFEL. The crystal analyzer in the centre of the image is clearly visible.(photo: European XFEL) Researchers at the FXE[1] instrument at European XFEL have now developed a new spectrometer to obtain meaningful results even at energies well above 15 keV. It works in the so-called Laue geometry. This means that the X-rays pass through the crystal and are diffracted by atomic layers perpendicular to the surface. The higher the X-ray energy, the more efficiently the Laue analyser works.$

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Apr 11

The HERCULES program provides #training for #students, #postdoctoral and senior #scientists from European and non-European universities and laboratories. Together with the groups XPD, FXE and SQS of European XFEL, the participants had the opportunity to take part in practical exercises at beam times

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Apr 8

European XFEL opened its doors to 52 students aged 10-16 who were given exciting insights into various careers in technology, science and administration at the international research facility on the nationwide Girls' and Boys' Day. The boys of "Campus Reporter" group shot this video. #nextgeneration

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Apr 2

Dear Friedrich, we wish you successful experiments!

Friedrich Roth @rothlabs.bsky.social · Apr 2

Our samples are READY! Next stop: @als-lbnl.bsky.social in Berkeley! 🔬✨ Excited for an intense week of beamtime, groundbreaking experiments, and new discoveries in charge transfer dynamics! Let’s do this! 💡💥 #Beamtime #ALS #ScienceInAction #SynchrotronAdventure

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Apr 1

That is great!! Very inspiring to hear that! We hope you have some time to celebrate now before work starts again!

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Apr 1

Dear @paullxavier.bsky.social for sharing that with us. We hope that the presentation at #apssummit25 went well!!

Paul Lourdu Xavier @paullxavier.bsky.social · Apr 1

Excited to have presented the results from
@europeanxfel.bsky.social at #APSSummit25 on imaging single-protein in 3D with hard XFEL pulses for the first time—had been an extremely tough-problem to crack for past three-decades—a historic step and a breakthrough. @maxplanck.de #CFEL #DESY #MPSD

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European XFEL @europeanxfel.bsky.social · Mar 31

European XFEL congratulates the new Chairwoman of the DESY Board of Directors Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Beate Heinemann, who takes office tomorrow 1 April, and wishes her every success in her new position. European XFEL also thanks her predecessor Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Helmut Dosch for his decisive support.

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